How does the US military's public relations combat the release of 91,000 gruesome war logs from Afghanistan through the Wikileaks website? By opening a new front on the social media battleground.

Generals are often accused of fighting the last war – but not Admiral Mike Mullen, the most senior US military officer as chairman of the joint chiefs of staff. Mullen today made his first public response to the war logs leak – and instead of holding a press conference or releasing a statement, Mullen made his views known in 140 characters through Twitter.

Mullen was travelling in Afghanistan when the news of the war logs – carried in the Guardian, New York Times and Der Spiegel – first came to light. Shortly after tweeting his thoughts Mullen held a more conventional press conference in Baghdad.

Mullen's tweet came as President Obama made his first comment on the controversy, although Obama used the comparatively elderly format of a statement in the White House Rose Garden. "These documents don't reveal any issues that haven't already informed our public debate on Afghanistan," Obama said.